


Altruis | Chat Noir X Male OC

by ZeAwesomeness



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Abuse, Anxiety Disorder, Disassociation, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Major Original Character(s), Mention of Panic Attacks, Miraculous Ladybug - Freeform, Original Miraculous Ladybug Character(s) - Freeform, POV Original Character, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Horror, Slow Burn, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-02-13 21:21:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12992781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZeAwesomeness/pseuds/ZeAwesomeness
Summary: Altruis is a government weapon sent from Russia to steal the miraculous' under the alias 'Ruin' with the assistance of a private investigator by the name of Noel. Instead things go down rather quickly, especially for the worse, how? By catching the interest of Adrien Agreste after accidentally losing control and starting a fight. Is Adrien in for a world of hell? To catch to the chase: yes. Curiosity killed the cat after all.[WARNING: HORRENDOUSLY TRIGGERING (mentions: war abuse manipulation mental illnesses personality disorders depression self harm suicide etc.]





	1. Au Revoir Russia, Bonjour France!

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: THIS STORY CAN BE HORRENDOUSLY TRIGGERING TO SOME. I PUT IN THE ADDITIONAL TAGS SOME OF THE TRIGGERS.

Altruis laid back into the grey cushioned plane seat, he did it. He finally did it. He left Russia. You see he's Russia's 'little secret' or, as the government called him, a 'weapon.'

He forgot how he was discovered though, you forget such small details after hundreds of centuries. Although one thing he never forgot was what they did to him. They did many things back then to shape him into the man he is today. Things like: torture, experiments, psychotic medicine and mentors, they even went so far as to force him to murder others. Some of the people he unwillingly killed he had deeply loved. After those traumatic experiences which had incinerated any remaining connection to his once caring spirit he was officially deemed ready for his 'real purpose' in their government. 

He was given many jobs after that. Jobs that had once been performed on him. He tortured many, practiced public and private executions using his special abilities, even took part in firing squads. Luckily, he'd already lost himself way before that and merely did everything as a dissociative robot. So, he can only remember those experiences in a hazy blur. If he felt any emotions back then- even now- his mind automatically locked it away somewhere. Sadly, it doesn't matter how much you dissociate yourself from something like that. Sooner or later you come back to earth and when you do the pain is unimaginable. As time went on it became obvious Altruis didn't want to live. He'd done so many reckless stunts during important missions that could have gotten him killed. The government decided they needed to find a solution and quickly.

One day, they gave him these pills. When he first took these 'pills' the pain was like a volcano in his chest, exploding and melting every fibre of his being. It was more painful then any of his previous suffering. You can never understand the pain of having your entire body and mind re-wired like some kind of robot. They deleted all his suffering like it was nothing. They deleted his humanity. They created an irreversible void within him. They had ripped his still beating heart from his chest and shoved something not human into his core programming. It was something monstrous. They changed him completely.

After taking the pills he was sent to another practice execution. Something was different now though. Beating humans to the point they stopped breathing, or for that matter, moving became fun. Every time this red water would decorate his feet like little red roses. Sometimes it would splatter, that easily became his favourite.

These thoughts let an innocent looking smile curl up his cheeks. The malice in such a smile was as obvious as a dead body in the streets of Moscow. But it fell just as quickly as it appeared, he'd forgotten how killing humans had gotten so dull so dreadfully quickly.

This new turn of events earned him a title. General Altruis. Altruis after that was ranked one of the best weapons in their entire army. Nobody dared to mess with the broken man.

Anyways, let's move onto a real question. A question I'm almost sure is way more beneficial than his entire stupid tragic backstory. If he was such a treasure to Russia why was he being shipped off to France?

Well, that's obvious. He was being sent to obtain more power.

What else did you expect? Humans are always greedy, he knew this even before he lost his sanity. The government was never an exception either. All of us are humans, including partially himself, which is why he was being sent off to France. Because even he still had his own weaknesses, like human needs obviously. Apparently these were minor road blocks the government believed he could one day overcome. Maybe with enough surgical adaptions he really could.

The news of these so called 'superheroes' had spread like wild fire through many Russian territories, and eventually everybody knew. Of course Russia wanted this power, I mean what country doesn't want their own superhero puppets with incredible abilities? So, as you can guess, he was now going undercover as a 'student.' What even was that again? But he'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little curious about this new task. What did the world look like now? Ever since the government took him in he had been denied basic human rights.

What else do you expect though? When you can't die humans fear you because you're an error in their made up flawed system. They don't know what you are, so with apparently 'no other choice' they label you as an abomination.

He silently grounded his teeth in a useless attempt at a bodily out let. There was no use over thinking such a topic anyways so there was also no use getting bent out of shape for nothing. "Focus on the present," he chastised himself. Once he regained enough of his composure he plastered an innocent civilian like look on his face just as the pilot announced over the speaker that they'd be descending shortly.

For the rest of the flight he sat in uncomfortable silence. The seats rocked gently with the planes descending rythm. It almost tempted him to sleep but he knew better. Sleeping was a literal nightmare. Instead he decided it'd be best to just watch the ground slowly get closer. He tried very hard to keep his mind empty, but even that seemed to have other plans. For the second time that day it wandered off, what did real food taste like? What would a home feel like? How did French people act? Wait is there a difference between French and Russian-?

A hard elbow to his ribs brought him back to harsh reality. He slowly looked over at his 'mom' with a small smile "Oh, are we here mother?" He said in a sickeningly sweet tone, purposefully sneering the title violently at the end as a warning sign.

The hidden malice in his words sent a shudder down her spine before she released a soft sigh, "c'mon son." He could hear the fear in her voice that she had tried so hard to mask with a disapproved sigh, something he was very used to at this point. 

They quickly grabbed their bags and left the plane, his mother doing all the talking out of security for him seeing as they spoke in weird tongues that he couldn't understand for the life of him. It made him question how long he'd been separated from society.

And once again the questions swarmed him, coming at him as quickly as bullets in an empty battle field. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, with his only support being his dead 'allies' bodies that covered the dry soil. They were drenched in blood. Blood that was either theirs or somebody else's. Blood old or fresh.

What would his life be like outside? Would he be allowed outside? If so would he change?

Three bullets in various limbs. He's feeling weak.

And how? Would it be good, or bad?

Another three bullets, but shock doesn't allow him to feel the pain. He can't clearly grasp where the bullets hit him.

Would he make friends?

A bullet in the heart.

He quickly shook his head, cutting off such a ridiculous train of thought. Him, having friends? Ridiculous! He would never have friends, never! Besides, even if he wanted to they'd all die. They'd use him, betray him, leave him, hurt him. 'Friends' was merely a word one used when they trust somebody.

He released a soft sigh, finally concentrating on the present to find himself and his mom leaving the- uh, what did they call it? He'll just call it a building in the meantime.

As soon as he walked out he was greeted by a man who spoke in the weird tongue. He wasn't sure what they were saying but judging from the mans bow and his mothers gesture he had to follow her into the weird thing?

He looked at it skeptically, and extraordinarily suspiciously. "What is this- this- this weird contraption!" He cried out, dumbfounded and bewildered. He knew he was making an unnecessary scene but seriously he couldn't take it anymore. His curiosity had reached its boiling point a long time ago. The man who spoke in the weird tongue looked at his fake mother with suspicion. It was at that moment his mom gently grabbed his wrist and once again gently threw him into the mysterious contraption (note the sarcasm).

He was thrown into the thing violently as the slam of the door shook the vehicle, looking up from his flipped over position in the weird seat he was met with a very pissed off glare.

"Somebody seems very happy" He smirked cockily, pouring gasoline on an already raging fire. But all too soon it was gone, released in a single sigh of disapproval. Altruis pouted, he really wanted to tease her a bit more.

"Listen, I'm sorry, for throwing you like that. I'm, just- just frustrated! This must be as equally tough on you-" Altruis burst out laughing hysterically at that, tough on him? He's been burned alive, now that was tough on him! But this, tough on him? That was truly a laugh! 

He was about to make another witty come back but her glare shut him up. He'd learned from experience that if somebody who was 'in control' of him was glaring menacingly, he should seriously consider shutting the hell up. He stilled for a second, before with a huff turned away twisting pale lips into another childish pout. His silent way of urging her to continue.

"As I was saying!" She growled, a little peeved by his previous disruption. She looked over with a glare but seeing his face seemed to soften something within her again. "I'm- I'm sorry, I don't understand anything you've been through. I still want to help you though. I- I really do care about you."

Altruis perked up curiously a sickening smirk on his face that anybody a mile away could tell was demented. "Oh, so, you want to help me? Well why don't you start by taking off these shackles, eh?" He teased raising a trembling arm proudly presenting silver shackles bound so tightly they dug into his pale flesh decorating it with shades of dripping red beauty.

She flinched.

"I... I can't..." She looked at him with hesitant pity. He hated that look so much. If she even loosened these irritating shackles just a little bit he'd murder her where she sat. That mocking malicious smile seemed to cover his face, putting the lady before him on an edge. Unsure how to feel, and just a little scared, she uncomfortably scooted herself farther from Al.

'Mom's' POV

After their initial interaction- or would you call it fight? Whatever you'd like to call it honestly, the vehicle was stuck in a tense silence. Neither dared to speak in fear of agitating the other further. One thing the kind lady could never quite fully grasp though throughout that entire soul crushing situation was his smile. It was beyond unsettling, yes. Call her weird to if you'd like but, aside from the creepiness, something else about it was firing off internal red flags. Something about that smile was, well, how would you put it? Maybe just a little sad? She wasn't sure but there was more to that smile than meets the eye.

Altruis seemed to notice long ago how uncomfortable his overall pale, chapped, scarred face made her but that didn't stop him in the slightest. Actually it seemed to just encourage him more. Altruis opted to keep that sweet, and innocent fake smile of his on throughout the entire ride. She's been staring at that weird smile for the past ten minutes or so and it's still just as horrifying as the first time she saw it.

Before she knew it quite some time had passed and within that time she may have been a little silently judging him. She skeptically looked over the man she'd be spending a good couple months with. Only now starting to regret her recent life choices. She began internally questioning how long one can smile so creepily. Was this normal? Why was he so bloody pale? Did his mother drop him as a baby? Did he have some kind of blood disorder? Also, why were his lips so chapped? Where did those scars come from? And did he literally practice everyday in a mirror that smile? It looked very practiced. Okay, he had to their was no other way you could just naturally pull off that sort of look-!

"Take a picture it lasts longer."

She somehow magically started choking on literal air, completely caught off guard. Dang, he noticed? Of course he did- oh god look away, you're still staring and now he's making direct eye contact! Code red! Code red! 

She turned away so fast she swore that she could have snapped her neck. Her face was beet red with embarrassment. She was supposed to be the adult here since she was not only put in charge but also obviously the physically older one. Gee official adult and even more awkward than her teenage self, you go girl. This reaction seemed to earn a small snort from Altruis, I guess she was doing something right?

Another silence engulfed the two for the next hour of one of the most agonizing drives she'd ever endure. The only taunting sound to encase them in that limo was the soft pitter-patter of crimson blood dripping ever so steadily from pale gashed wrists to a surely stained carpeted floor.

... Drip...

... Drop...

... Drip...

... Drop...

"We're here." The driver finally announced after an hour, successfully breaking the ice. "Thank you, Nikola" she breathed a sigh of relief. Nikola has been a good friend of hers for a long time and although they were intimidating and quiet they sure knew how to break the ice. Getting out she went around the car, opening the door for Altruis as a silent apology. When he came out he couldn't help going rigid. He was in front of a normal looking apartment complex. The cocked yet shocked brow at her couldn't be helped.

She nervously laughed, "uh, yeah, I know, I know. It's not the best-" Altruis' eyes widened completely caught off guard by her statement, "Not the best? This is amazing!" He cried out in awe completely catching the other off guard as well. "It's so tall! The last time I saw such a big house it was, uh, what'd they call it again? A castle?" 

He stared up in fascination but that was quickly interrupted when he heard soft giggles coming from the woman beside him. The sound was sweet, well to most, not Altruis. "You do know we only get one room in there, right?"

He blushed, letting out a soft "tch" and quickly looked away, pale lips forming into a soft sneer, internal walls seeming to shoot up. "I-I mean it's not that great." He grumbled almost bitterly. Almost.

A soft smile appeared on her face as it occurred to her that he was still very much like a child. She grabbed her bags while quickly ushering the not-so-secretly gawking boy into the building with her. 

Altruis' POV

Immediately his mother left to go talk to some guy at this huge counter. It was then he decided it'd be alright if he snuck off for just a bit to sit on some random bench.

Sitting down he immediately felt the coldness of the bench, yet he was unaffected. He was in far too much awe to notice. He took in the luxurious walls decorated here n' there with small intricate designs. The soft floors he could just sleep on, the lights, the everything! It was all fantastic and he was really resisting the urge to run off and explore everything like an excited child would. Sighing, he knew he couldn't do such a thing so instead he just sat their obediently sorting out his thoughts for a bit. It was awkwardly tense as his mind still ran with adrenaline and seconds felt like minutes. God, he really wanted to run!

He was about to do so when a gentle tap on his shoulder brought him back to reality. His head shot up to meet the gentle eyes of the woman who was going to be his leader for this mission. "I got our room, c'mon," she said sounding exhausted. Flight must've worn her out, huh. Getting up Altruis blindly followed the woman upstairs but not before jumping around excitedly trying to point out every little curve and detail. The women laughed, "I've never seen somebody so ecstatic about an apartment complex before!"

This time he ignored the comment, not letting it get to him. Besides, he'd have to live with this woman so why put up some sort of serious official composure?

They finally reached a floor and walked up to a room labeled "225." Altruis quirked an eyebrow but didn't question the strange modern customs anymore.

As soon as the door opened he ran in and flopped onto the bed happily. "Man I'm so happy to be outta that stupid Russian governmental testing facility. Y'know they can be really mean!" he groaned, thinking back to... other times.

The woman gasped dramatically, pretending to glare, although it did little to hide the growing smirk. "Hey you just got out, don't be Russian these things!" Altruis sat their blinking for a good couple seconds trying to understand the pun. When he did though he burst out into a fit of snorts, and laughter like it was the first joke he has ever heard in years! The woman was chuckling as well as she took a seat next to the boy.

It was then she decided to get down to business.

"Okay no more Stalin-" she quietly snorted at the Russian pun- "we need to talk, It's about your mission." He perked up curiously, what was this about? He hummed to acknowledge her to go on.

She sighed "I know you must be very excited to finally not be under all those rules and security anymore. Sadly it's not exactly over yet."

He immediately grumbled, of course he wasn't completely free what was he expecting? The Russian government for once actually giving him a vacation? Nope! He got his hopes up too high...

"For one, you can't go anywhere without permission."

Cue the angry groan.

"And second, you can't make any friends. With friends you risk giving personal information about Russia's real motives, even if it's accidental. I know it's cruel, but you're one of Russia's biggest secrets. You have to come off as, well-"

She cringed, looking over at the boy hanging upside down on the bed. He was pouting like a child while easily picking at the rotting flesh around his wrists from the shackles without even so much as flinching.

"... Normal."

She let out a long exasperated sigh. That one was going to be really hard for him. The boy sassily rolled his eyes "so, basically, the only thing that's changed now is that I'm in a different location?" He sneered angrily obviously frustrated with the current situation.

Placing a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder she offered a small smile. "I'm sorry you won't be able to make friends, but~!" She smirked once again peaking his curiosity in that strange way of hers.

"We can be friends and to make things better, as long as you're with me, we can go travel all around Paris!"

She honestly thought she'd never see such a pure, and genuine smile from him in a million years. A surprisingly warm body was quick to embrace her excitedly mumbling almost a million times, faster than any human mouth should ever move, a bunch of quiet 'thank you's into the crook of her neck.

It was at that moment she really did feel like a mother again.


	2. Research

Sleeping was horrible. Altruis had been tossing and turning for at least two hours with no logical sense or comprehendible reason as to why. Sitting up he decided to look around and just take in his surroundings. Moonlight illuminated half of the couch, close to where his 'mother' slept, along with anything else the lights glowing path could reach. Just enough convenient light to make a surprising discovery. Moonlight revealed secrets his bare naked eye wouldn't have seen, what it was? The existence of a accessible computer. The woman's computer, to be exact.

With no hesitance and footsteps as light as feathers he crept towards the lighted couch holding his desired vessel. Luckily, the woman was dead asleep. A deep sleeper maybe? He didn't know, but right now it was the least of his concerns. As he went to snatch the laptop another objects glinted outline ensnared his interest. A wallet? With a smirk he grabbed it. Non-existent care given for her privacy. 

'Oh boy, I wonder who's wallet this could be?' He internally inquired sarcastically as he pulled out the I.D. He was not surprised at all when the I.D photo revealed the woman currently sleeping near him. Well, guess he's finally learning her name. The woman was smiling, a big goofy-like smile. She probably got in trouble for that. He mentally noted how much younger she looked in the photo. Wonder what persuasion tactics she had to utilize to allow that? Was the hassle she got worth it? Well, to be completely honest, he totally would've done the same. The idea itself brought a small smile of his own towards his face. The info was pretty basic, the usual on any I.D, but it was still decently helpful in certain aspects.

Her name was Noël Amour Rim.  
She was 39-years-old.  
Her primary job for the Russian government was investigation.

As he finished reading the last most useful piece of information he couldn't help the slight widen to his eyes. The last one genuinely catching him off guard. She's an investigator? If that's the case, then, why is she here body guarding him? It didn't really make a whole lot of sense but he didn't want to dwell on it all night either. At least not yet. He had bigger concerns in the meantime. Snatching the laptop he crept back to his bed while powering on the screen. 

The blue light burned his eyes, it was easy enough to adjust to, but that didn't stop him from immediately lowering the brightness. In front of his eyes was the woman's icon and he nearly burst out into mad laughter at the absurdity of it. The icon was a fricken pun. This woman was definitely going to be pun-bearable.

Hacking the computer was easy. Finding real information was a whole other story. He researched for hours, and hours. For goodness sake it was like trying to find Dracula's lair and an antidote to turn him human! It wasn't impossible but sure as hell close to it. Trying to separate myths and false information from real facts was bloody difficult. Actually, wait, take back his earlier statement. It was possibly impossible.

He'd sat hunched over for hours: googling basic to complex facts, writing notes on whatever he could find, reading conspiracy theories from left to right, heck, he went so far as to create an entire digital mind board on her laptop.

It barely changed the reality he was, after so much time spent, still stuck at square one.

With a heavy sigh, he ran his fingers through his hay-like hair. He swore he was not going to sleep until he found at least something. With a raw fire set into his bloodshot eyes he typed away with a new found determination. It wasn't until another couple hours later after so much brainstorming he gave himself a headache that he finally cracked a mystery. It was relatively small compared to more of the bigger questions but depending on how he used it, it could change that fairly quickly. As long as he plays his cards right then he has a possibility, a slim one but a possibility nonetheless, of making the biggest impact ever seen to this world.

This was going to be fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is barely even getting attention so I'm pulling a YOLO and posting all, so far, existing Altruis chapters to try to grab more readers interest. I hope this works.


	3. First day, first fight

Altruis was grim as he easily descended the apartment stairs and continued onwards towards the door. Despite Noël being by his side he just couldn't push away the all-too-familiar feeling of unease arising. This mission didn't feel very safe anymore to put into simple terms. It was too risky, especially for somebody like Altruis. Why was he of all objects picked for this job? It just didn't make sense! There was so many other weapons with much better equipped abilities than him for a job like this, so, why? Their was no logical explanation, their was no benefit, their was no reason. Besides, he hadn't any training within this department of work.

When he first came here he expected it to be like any other previous mission.

Go somewhere with some of his fellow weapons. Kill the targets with specific instructions, and information regarding the aftermath and/or victim. Once the job was done, it was time to go home. The end. This though, this was very different. He had to do so much more than just killing for this mission.

This mission required interactive manipulation skills which to him are practically non existent. Like, he has to actually manipulate people for possible months, not just a day or two. The latter already sounded hard and not to mention tedious, so, a month? Definitely by far impossible. How do you even manipulate people? Are you supposed to threaten them? Wait, does he have to do the opposite? He doesn't even know how to be friendly to humans. For bloody sakes he doesn't know how to take initiative just to mutter 'hi'! He seriously doubts he'd be able to pry.

Not only that, but his instructions weren't very clear, how was he supposed to get close to these supposed 'heroes?' What was he supposed to do? Was there any specific instructions like usual or-?

A seeded pain deep within the confines of his soul was tearing itself throughout his chest, slight tremors wracked his body with its weight. Obvious signs of the beginning of a panic attack. Not willing to confront his emotions just yet- maybe ever- he was quick to rid his mind of all thoughts, quick to numb any feeling, and even quicker to let the white noise consume him. To the point the rest of the walk to his desired location was merely a mindless blur of time.

Before he knew it he stood before the stairs to a decently big building. Definitely not as tall nor as big as his apartment complex, but still quite large in comparison to most.

Noel had nudged him ahead, noticing his bold hesistation. "Oh c'mon scaredy cat! School really isn't as bad as you think." She winked innocently as she skipped eagerly towards the stairs. A thought seemed to strike her mid-skip though cause she turned around quickly, "oh, and Al?" He curiously lifted his head up towards her, acknowledging he was called. He strongly grimaced internally though when he saw that deadly look cross once gentle features within the fraction of a second. 

"Don't blow your cover, alright, Ruin?"

He nodded his head rapidly nervousness visible as he bodily expressed 'affirmative.' With that he skittishly followed behind Noel, unprepared for what was about to greet them. Oh gee he was seriously not ready for this, what if somebody found out about him? It really wouldn't be hard. This was too foreign for him to professionally do. He was totally gonna blow it! The only people he'd communicated with in centuries were his captors, and his only form of communication was passive aggressive comments. Would he even physically be able to mutter 'hi'?

He had little time to react as Noel opened the door, light flooded his vision as the door fully opened. A bucket fell onto Noel's unsuspecting head- wait what? Noël stood in the doorway her hair, which by the way took hours to get ready, was completely mangled in water. Altruis snorted at Noel's horrified expression.

"Hey don't worry too much Noel, it suits you!" He covered his mouth in a desperate attempt not to burst into a fit of laughter. Tears stung at the corners of his eyes due to compressed laughter building up within his very being.

He'd never seen Noel whip her head around so fast, and with such fury. Oh crap, she was pissed. "I-I mean y-you- uh!-" He quickly tried to fix his mistake but somebody seemed to come to his rescue. The boy spoke the weird tongue Noel later told him that day was 'french'. He'd heard it before in the past, but he wasn't sure where. Probably from one of his fellow weapons. With his mind eased he shrugged off his thoughts, tuning back into reality.

Noël seemed to have considerably calmed down after the boy's explanation, Altruis honestly didn't care, it wasn't like Noel could hit him in front of all these people. The boy kept glancing at him curiously whenever he thought he wasn't looking though, it was a bit strange. Were young humans always like that? Maybe it was because of his albinism, somebody like him really stood out in these situations. Especially considering the fact he wasn't hiding within the shadows draped in all black military camouflage and instead some 'normal clothes' in a educational environment.

Once the drama had cleared up Altruis picked a random spot and claimed his seat. With nothing to do he shrugged the heavy backpack off of his aching shoulders and began to rummage through the supplies of apparently 'necessities' for this 'school' thing. After much rummaging he found something sort of entertaining? Laying out the paper and some tools he began to work, Noel curiously peeking.

"Whatcha drawing?"

"Nothing."

"It doesn't look like nothing."

"Nothing that concerns you then."

"I feel concerned as to what somebody like you can possibly create, can I see?"

Altruis rolled his eyes sarcastically really not wanting to put up much of a fight right now, at least not this early in the morning.

"Want to see?" Noel excitedly shook her head 'yes' like a mother eager to see her child's beautiful work. Shyly picking up the small piece of paper he gave it a skeptical look, unsure of whether he should destroy it now or actually let her see. Sadly he didn't seem to get much of a say in the matter as Noel hurriedly ripped it out of his hands, quickly turning it around to see.

After that Noel sat in silence eying the piece with confusion, the longer she stared wordlessly the redder Altruis got. His hands apprehensively clenched each other beneath the table, nearly sweating. "W-well? What do you think?"

Noel seemed to pop out of her trance, timidly stuttering a reply "O-oh! It's- uh- good! I really like the trees!" 

"That's a human."

Noel's flash of horror said everything but it was quick to be replaced by the embarrassment of getting it wrong. "Oh! Whoops! Well, I- uh- just remembered I have to! Uh, use the washroom! Yeah! Be right back!" 

Noel skillfully flipped out of the window using her awesome CIA training skills (papyrus style!). Great way to avoid confrontation Noel, he should really start taking notes now...

Sighing he took the drawing back glaring with self loath at it, "this is so stupid." he mumbled quietly to himself, ready to tear up the dumb piece of paper. Sadly, he was cut short once again by: some loud footsteps, chairs and tables scraping against the floor, some guy face planting, and then the same guy awkwardly introducing himself in the weird language. He quickly recognized him as the guy who spilled a bucket on Noel's head, bucket boy? That's definitely going to be his nickname from now on.

Altruis- wait no he was Ruin right now, not Altruis, Ruin.

Ruin tilted his head in confusion, an eyebrow quirked "uhm, what?" Bucket boy seemed to realize that Ruin didn't speak gibberish and started to blush heavily. Grabbing Ruin's pencil he drew himself waving in a friendly manner. Ruin stared at it skeptically, should he really go along with this? He wasn't supposed to make friends, right? 

With a shrug he went with the best course of action and drew himself flipping bucket boy off. Surprisingly though bucket boy wasn't offended at all, instead he drew himself flipping off Ruin in response, even going as far as to add himself sticking his tongue out. Ruin couldn't help but snort at the cute little drawing giving him the finger. After that they just kept drawing absurd offensive doodles at each other. It was nice.

Bucket boy ended up taking Noel's seat beside Ruin and the two continued to exchange drawings even though Ruins were obviously just appalling. Before he knew it he had already broken a rule. He made a friend. Bucket boy wrote his name down as 'Nathanael' in return he wrote his undercover name, 'Ruin.' 

Bucket boys name was Nathanael, huh? Interesting. He was sweet, not much of a talker but that worked out in both of their favours.

They were having a pretty good time until it started to become hard to draw, why? Random flashes from behind them kept going off. Honestly Ruin was about ready to flip off whoever behind him was doing that. Wait, actually who says he can't? Spinning around Ruin prepared his middle finger to- wait, Noel?

Noel sat behind him with a perverted smirk, a camera, and a shirt saying in Russian 'I SHIP IT.' Ruin sat in deep confusion, what was 'shipping'? Does she mean the boat type of shipping? But if that was the case the context of that sentence didn't make sense, did she want to ship Ruin off-? He was interrupted by Nathanael bursting into laughter. He arched an eyebrow becoming even more confused. It was then he realized Noel had started a conversation with Nathanael. Did she make a joke? 

Before he could ask what the hell shipping was a loud ringing went off. The loud sound was abrupt and made Ruin jump as if he was reacting to some really good horror movie. The reaction was quite violent and more than a little over the top. Noel was quick to take action and reassure him that it was just the bell that went off. It alerted students that classes were either beginning or ending, in this case class was beginning.

The day went surprisingly quick thanks to Nathanael and Noel. He ended up sharing a lot of classes with Nathanael. Sadly not the same options but that was fine. Noel was in every class with him, although for some reason quite a few of the commanders kept getting frustrated. Noel said something about his inappropriate behavior, and language? He wasn't really listening.

It was around the end of the day, he took a random seat and Noel followed to take the seat beside him. It was picked at random but Ruin was just as quick to claim the seat as his as usual. Sadly, that was soon to be challenged. A blonde girl strutted up to him n' Noel yelling gibberish nonsense.

Noel seemed to be trying to reason with her while Ruin just looked at her with a cold emotionless glance. The two talked for a bit Noel getting increasingly concerned, while the blonde bimbo kept getting increasingly annoyed. 

Eventually it escalated to the point Noel had turned to Ruin and spoke in fluent Russian. "Ok, Al we may have a tiny problem," Ruin raised a brow what could possibly be wrong? Everything's been going so well up till now. Oh no, did he mess up the mission? Did this blonde bimbo know who he truly was? Was there going to be a war now?! He could feel his agitation steadily rising as every little possibility ran itself through his mind all at once. 

"It seems we took her seat and she really wants it back. I personally think we should just move and not stir any trouble."

Oh.

Honestly, Ruin probably would have gotten up and gone somewhere else without a fight. Keyword: would have. As he moved to get up he saw something that stopped him dead in his tracks. The thought of avoiding unnecessary conflict was quickly ridden from his mind when he saw the small orange haired girl behind blonde bimbo. Something about that slouched posture, nearly emotionless face, heavy arms, and eyes that secretly begged 'help me' but nobody ever noticed. They stopped him dead in his tracks. Those eyes were too familiar. That girl had the same eyes as him.

"No."

His mouth moved before his mind could. He didn't regret this decision though. Taking in his surroundings more he's now just noticing how afraid everybody is of blonde bimbo. At least judging by their terrified expressions.

So, she runs this 'school', huh? Perfect. Time to assert his dominance over this region. Noël looked at the man as if he'd grown two heads, "Ruin we need to move." No, no he wasn't going to let somebody underestimate him, especially not a little bratty girl. Ruin stood up and looked the girl dead in the eyes with the glare of a ruthless murderer. For once he said something in French, although it was heavily coated in Russian it still came across as fierce and dead set determined. 

"Non."

As soon as those words left his mouth he decided the blonde bimbo was an absolute idiot. She reigned this territory with endless amounts of stupidity. Why was Ruin currently thinking this? Without thinking she did the most stupid thing ever.

She slapped Ruin. 

Ruin sat there not surprised, not in pain, not angry. He just quietly stood there red mark for sure going to leave a bruise against his pale complexion. That wasn't the scary part though. What was scary was how silent Ruin was. To say it was alarming was by far an understatement. Nobody could see Ruins expression but nobody wanted to see it. No, he wasn't angry, he was pissed. His height toppled hers and for once he wasn't smiling. No goofiness, no sinister smirk crawling its way from hell and up to his face. Just blank rage.

Every red flag to just leave was going off but truly stupidity was an amazing thing. Cause she didn't back down, no, instead she tried to shove him and take his spot. Key word, tried. Ruin had enough and with the last of his patience ran thin he decided to return the favour. 

He punched Chloe. 

Now do understand Ruin isn't like most people. For one nobody would ever in their right mind punch Chloe.  
Second of all, well, he never truly realized how much stronger he was compared to a mortal human being until now. 

Chloe stumbled back her lip was cut, and her nose a bit bent in a unnatural angle. Blood rushed it's way down from the abyss of her nostril. It decorated her face, hands, and even spots of the once clean floor. She cried out in pain fellow humans quick to rush towards her side in a panic. Eh, crybaby, a broken nose never killed nobody. Well, probably not anymore. Shrugging Ruin turned around ready to sit back down comfortably in his seat and ignore the scene unfolding before him. 

Sadly fate had other plans, another blondey grabbed Ruin by the front of his dark blue jacket and spun him back around. This guy was a lot taller than him, that wasn't too surprising though Ruins never been the tallest. To be honest he's quite short compared to most evolutionary humans.

The boy looked him dead in the eye with such a glare, but Ruin only arched an eyebrow confused. The boy began angrily yelling gibberish at him like the others but Ruin found himself distracted by the boys set of what looked almost like emerald eyes? Huh, those looked familiar, he'd stared into very similar eyes many times before. They distracted him, lowered his guard. Memories from the past flooded him as if an emotional wall had been blown away by just a pair of beautiful green eyes. They reminded him so much of-

His thoughts were cut off as a fist violently slammed against his jaw by the way taller male sending him stumbling backwards. His jaw felt painfully loose, crap, it got dislocated. His hands quickly flew to his jaw popping it back in place before anybody noticed. Drawing attention to anything that may indicate he isn't physically 'normal' was beyond bad.

Instead he decided to plaster on that bittersweet smile of his, but this time his eyes didn't say the same. He looked up with a glare overflowing with malicious intent. It was normal for Ruin but also so bizarre. Maybe it was because this glare was very different from his half baked uncaring ones. This one was genuine. The guy shrunk back into himself intimidated by the small vengeful man.

"you like it rough, huh? I'll give you rough..." 

Ruin lunged towards him getting a good punch at one of those stupid eyes he'd once upon a time adored so much. Grabbing a fistful of soft blonde locks he hurled the other guy down the stairs with something akin to monstrous strength.

Unfortunately before he could hurt any more unfortunate souls to cross his path during such a rampage Noel had stopped in. She was swift, quicker than him, to pin him down like a wild animal. "Get off of me! It's not my fault they wanted to spill blood!" Noel's fist tightened around Ruins scabbed healing wrist nearly to the point it cut off circulation to his hands altogether. A clear reminder he's not in control, and a even more painful truth he hadn't thought of. What was his superiors going to do when they hear of this?

He began trembling as he felt her sharp fingers nails dig deeper into the flesh wounds around his wrists covering them in new coats of fresh blood. Luckily, his sweater was dark and quick to absorb the blood that easily blended in to the overall aroma of the room. With a low voice Noel growled "There? Satisfied?" He blinked unsure of why she said that. It hit him then though a spark of familiarity flashed across his blue eyes as he remembered what exactly he said during his rampage ("They wanted to spill blood!"). Despite his circumstance Ruin smirked weakly,

"very."


	4. The Voices

Noel, and Ruin sat in pure silence. Neither daring to speak in fear of igniting another attack. Ruin just glared out of the window on his side of the room. A dark aura leaked from him literally daring somebody to touch him. Ruin was beyond pissed, no words could even describe the level of rage at this point. Sadly, he couldn't actually do anything even if he wanted to. After that stunt Noël had figuratively tightened her leash on him. All he wanted to do was scream, and shout his lungs out. Maybe even break a few things. He can't do that though. With a sigh he focused his internal negativity intently on the serenity of the outside world.

Everything out there seemed so peaceful, unlike the tense atmosphere surrounding him currently. He quietly watched the gentle breeze push at the leaves on a tree. Nature slightly rustled with each sound swept of breath delivered its way. It made the trees dance, it made the grass bounce, it made the flowers twirl, it made everything look so alive. It was surreal. Out there it was so calm, unlike inside, inside was just utter chaos about to brew. 

When you first look at Ruin he's always held this compelling, tyrant like exterior which made humans fear to even try and get close to him. It was all just some silly charade though. He was never truly evil, quite far from it. He was horribly weak. 

Even now he could feel the familiar pinprick like goosebumps caused by severe anxiety creeping up his arms. It sent painful shivers throughout his spine. He tried to play it cool, act like he wasn't trembling as hard as a leaf in a storm. His anxiety was like a monster all on its own. It was just ready to pounce onto his agitated mind at any second watching him like the prey he is. Waiting patiently for that perfect moment to strike.

He had nothing to do and he was repressing so many unwanted overreactive thoughts. He really wanted to think but he shouldn't. Thinking can be bad. All he could hear was that dreadful white noise he knew all too well. With a sigh he kept watching the window an ice pack tightly held against his jaw. He tried transferring his anxiety into the previous ice pack earlier by using it like a stress ball. Worst idea ever. He looked down with embarrassment at the wet spot near his feet on the floor. Cubes of ice were still solid, the entire spot stood out quite a bit. He could feel a tingle in his cheeks as he quickly looked away a blush already starting to form.

Seconds felt like minutes and his mental state was deteriorating faster each whole minute. It was practically crumbling at the seams. He thought he could get through it but after a little more than just 5 minutes he decided to just say screw it all and let his mind wander off. He remembered shortly though the reason why he didn't let his mind wander in scenarios like this. Sadly, once the beast is unleashed there is no going back.

siHt Si rUoy tlUaf...

YeHt EtaH uOy woN.

Shut up.

Ehs setah uoy, os seod leanahtan, ew lla etah uoy...

Llik reh, llik mih, llik lla fo meth. Llik flesruoy.

Nur yawa, nur sa raf sa ouy nac morf siht ecalp

On! Nrub siht ecalp ot eht dnuorg, ekam meth yap

Shut up!

 

.

.

.

tiaw....

s'gnihtemos t'nsi thgir.

s'gnihtemos gnorw.

s'gnihtemos gnimoc.

s'it yracs.

Krad. 

Dloc.

Gnissessop.

Nur.

Nur!

NUR!

NUR!

NUR!

NUR-!

A hand was gently placed onto Ruins shoulder bringing him back to reality. His mind had stalled for a moment, trying desperately to reign himself back into this realm. Once he reigned himself back in though he realized he had hunched over. The comforting ice pack had been placed somewhere else long ago in favour of tightly gripping his white locks. To the point his knuckles resembled the snow like hairs that flew from between the gaps.

"Are... Are- Are you okay?" Noel looked at Ruin gravely, genuine concern filling her deep brown chocolate eyes. Ruin lightly chuckled. The chuckle sounded hoarse and forced, nothing about it sounded right. His face had gone a couple shades paler than usual, almost sickly ashen, and he had yet to relax. His form was so tight the trembles had been reduced to twitches. "Are you-" Noel began but ruin was quicker to shut her up.

"I need to go."

Noel was taken aback, "Ruin you just got into a huge fight, now you need to just- just go?!" Noel cried out in disbelief, and utter confusion towards this bizarre change of behaviour.

"If you really think I'm just gonna let you go off again you better think twice bud-" Noel attempted to scold him like a disapproving mother would but Ruin once again was quicker. He rushed up so fast his chair almost fell backwards as he bolted from that dreadful room. Beads of sweat rolled down his pale anxious face. A part of him was convinced he was truly dying, the other part of himself had to reassure himself repeatedly that this was only an anxiety attack and it will pass. That didn't stop him from booking it though.

In scenarios such as these there are two options: fight-or-flight. He wasn't allowed to fight, so, flight it was.

Noel was quick to chase after the boy yelling Russian gibberish at him, probably stuff about how much trouble he was going to be in when they got home and other empty threats. All they left in the dust of their hurried dash was a stunned Adrien. Just quietly sitting there with an ice pack held tightly to his left eye. Gawking in utter disbelief as to what just happened, only a single thought struck his mind. 'He's crazy.'

He soon learned Ruins true reasoning though as to why he had run away so fast in such fear. Seconds after the two ran from the room a black purplish butterfly innocently fluttered its way in. It eagerly flew around a bit as if it was looking for something, or should I say someone?

Altruis' POV

He desperately tried to catch his breath as he leaned against the pole, he'd never run that fast, but why? On the bright side though he lost Noel, or maybe that wasn't good. Actually now his punishment was going to be triple times worse, crap!

"Dammit, damn all hell! Why did I have to run off like that?!" He cried in anger with enough salt to rival a pearl. When he got no response he felt his temper rise drastically, a definite mood swing. His face turned red with rage as he began to scream at nothing, "what? Got nothing to say now, huh?! It's not like there was some sort of threat, I was fine!" He felt himself explode with anger, and built up frustrations. Maybe it was his exhaustion, or maybe it was the guilt eating away at him. Either way his childish resolution to these difficult emotions in the end was to pout and whine all day like a child throwing a temper tantrum.

He glared bitterly at nothing, fist clenched tightly just wanting to strangle them, sadly he couldn't cause they weren't physically here. They were in his mind. Which, in so many ways, was horrible.

Llits gnimoc.

peek gninnur

t'nod kool kcab 

Nur

gnimoc

tasf

...dinheb uoy...

Ruin tensed feeling his anxiety sky rocketing off of the roof top. A shiver running down his spine as fast as the flash. His brain short circuited for a good couple seconds as it sluggishly processed this new information. Behind me? Spinning around on his heel he clenched his fist as tight as he could ready to punch the lights out of whoever was scaring him to this extent. 

He turned only to find nothing.

He stood there with a clenched fist gawking at nothing in utter confusion. Were the voices just toying with him? They've done it before but never to this odd extent. He was about to turn back around and go home, maybe even drink away all of his misfortunes. 

Then something happened. He spotted something. Almost too small for the human eye but somehow he could make out the smallest hovering black dot in the distance. Wait, actually, what the hell is that thing? Narrowing his icy blue eyes at the black blob he realized how quickly it was coming. Oh, actually that was coming really quickly. 

He wanted to run, he truly did, but his anxiety had finally pounced. His mind had completely stopped, he was frozen solid to the spot. His knees wanted to buckle, his feet wanted to move, his hands wanted to cover him but he couldn't. His anxiety was like a snake wrapped around his neck. It was suffocating. The voices went absolutely haywire screeching at him to do something, anything!

NUR,

NUR,

NUR,

NUR,

NUR,

NUR,

NUR,

NUR,

NUR.

It was too late. 

The thing had, probably not looking as to where it was going, flew right into ruins eye. The pain was excruciating, even more than some of the tortures he'd endured up till now. Immediately Ruins gut wrenching scream filled the empty, hollow park. He collapsed to the ground, a bloody sobbing mess of pain. His hands desperately clawed at his right eye, hoping that maybe if he clawed enough he could wrench the object from his skull and stop the overwhelming pain that came with it.

Obviously, it didn't work.

Instead his interference only worsened the fatal wound. Whatever that thing was, and whoever had used it, did not know this would happen. Ruin himself was surprised by how his body reacted to whatever that thing was. Could it be that all the experiments he'd gone through plus whatever that black dot was possibly caused a chemical explosion throughout his body? It seemed likely. It also sure as hell felt like it.

Ruin wasn't sure when he had stopped struggling. His ears rang as loud as a fire alarm, causing one of the worst migraines he had ever had. Thoughts slowly came through his mind in a hazy fog at a rate so slow he questioned if he'd been drugged. 

Was he going to die?

This single thought powered a semi panic attack throughout his shocked stated. Although his mind and body was not functioning properly he found the power to carry his dying form to a nearby alley. He barely made it in before his knees finally buckled and he collapsed as a lump on the ground.

The last thing he could faintly remember was the dim mind numbing pain of his jaw being slammed against the concrete ground and becoming uncomfortably loose again. Luckily the pain had finally knocked him out.

Ythgin thgin siurtla, ees uoy noos...


	5. Memories

Eyes fluttered open, what had happened? With a quiet groan hawkmoth found himself sitting up. He was quite surprised to find himself in what looked like some sort of old fashioned wooden home. The overall appearance of the place resembled a cabin you'd find in the middle of nowhere surrounded by heavily wooded forest. The floorboards creaked with even the slightest movements. Dust and cobwebs littered every creak and crevice. Every spot was marked by an obvious presence of aging done by too much time.

He sat in the middle of this wooden cabin on a itchy green rug in front of a slowly burning fireplace. There was a small mostly wooden kitchen in the back, including a sizeable table with some wooden chairs around. Jeez was literally everything wood here? Near him two black couches stood which, extraordinarily, were not wood but rather leather. The only entertaining piece of furniture was what looked like a brand new T.V that could have possibly just been installed. Other than that though the place was nearly empty, almost barren, at least it gave off this cozy vibe which was nice and slightly eased his growing fear of this unknown.

The most peculiar thing about this room though was its doors. That's right, doors. There wasn't one, nor was there simply two. There was at the very least 10 in sight. 

Each door seemed labelled but in ways he couldn't quite grasp, more specifically a language he couldn't understand. Looking up one door in peculiar peaked his interest by far for it's strange appearance. Cracks, scratches, dents, and blood covered the door and all it's surroundings within a feet or two. With too much hesitance he got up from the slightly annoying rug and walked over to inspect. 

Above it hung a wooden splintered sign reading "воспоминания." What that meant? He had no idea. The sign itself was tattered with edits. Looking more closely at the marks he was mortified to say the least to find more fresh blood than dried blood. What the hell was behind this door? He wouldn't know the answer to that question unless he acted. With a deep breath in and out he took a leap of faith. 

With a shaking hand he opened the door. What he saw took his breath away but he wasn't really surprised either. It met his expectations. Papers were littered carelessly about, old distorted photos strewn wildly everywhere, and the occasional muffled echo of something hollowing down towards him. Every aspect of the hall had been ruined in some way making it look as if a hurricane had paid this place a visit. It reminded him too much of a haunted house.

With a reluctant self-push, he took a step in. Flickering lights led him deeper, and as he got deeper, the noises got louder. They were all so different, just like the doors in this hall. Muffled voices surrounded him with emotions ranging from pure joy to blood wrenching screams. It was intriguing and terrifying all at once. 

The doors were the same. Doors from tiny to colossal overwhelmed the relatively average sized hall. The doors easily caught his interest the most though and he soon found himself examining one in particular. A colourful vibrant green with pure white flowery patterns decorating beyond its boundaries, an intriguing door that somehow emanated a sense of childish innocence. The theme alluded him towards its knob and with a step he found his hand twisting the door open. A peak couldn't hurt, hopefully.

Luckily, he was correct, the scenery before him blew his mind. It looked just like something out of a fairy tale! Miles of open field stretched across the land. Flowers of all kind cluttered the blossoming greens. A light breeze brushed softly against his skin. He might've been cold if not for the warmth of the sun welcoming him.

The field seemed vacant, well he thought so at least, until a human presence made itself apparent. "Altruis, it's not that hard!" A stern, definitely feminine voice, resounded across the natural environment. Taking a closer look he noticed two children. A girl with dirty blonde hair and tanned skin stood stubbornly before a shorter more shy introverted boy. "Cmon, Fiona, y'know I can't do that. Pops will kill me!" 

But the 'Fiona' didn't seem to be giving up, he could tell by the livid look in her nearly glowering green eyes, "y'know what? Fine! If you're not gonna do it, then I'll do it!"

The girl stomped down the hill expressively furious as she rolled up the white sleeves of her green shirt. The albino child tripped hurriedly after her, fear evident in his baby blue eyes as he frantically tried to stop the other.

"F-Fiona, wait, please! It's really not that big of a deal!"

Just like that the two seemed to vanish from sight. What was that all about? Quietly steeping out of the door and closing it the realization hit him. These doors contained stories! Jogging up to the next door with anticipation he carefully opened it, once again, peeking in.

Inside was variably different compared to the last. It appeared as though he was looking into a wooden room. A single window let light stream in bathing cabinets filled with: jars, plants, bandages, and fluids to be bathed in its natural light. Just as he guessed the two children were in this room as well. Fiona sat on a table triumphantly the boy known as 'Altruis' rummaged through the shelves filling his shaky arms steadily with supplies. 

"You should've seen their faces Al! Trust me, man, they really had it coming." Fiona chuckled proudly despite obviously being injured, Altruis sent a worried glare but said nothing. He diligently worked, laying out the supplies beside Fiona and preparing some herbal medicine in advance. Fiona kept going into a melodramatic speech about how they had it coming. Failing to notice the other occupants silence. Eventually she stopped noticing the boys scrunched up distressed face.

"Al, are you okay?"

The question seemed to bring him out of his concentrated trance, he looked up to see the girls worried look. He sighed sadly placing the medicine down and sitting beside her. "I-I'm worried Fiona. You're always getting into fights." 

He felt himself fall helplessly into her lap, something he did when he was having an anxiety attack. Knowing this she gently brushed her fingers through his abnormally long hair to keep him calm. "I just keep thinking what if I-I wasn't there, y'know? Like, what could've happened to you? Those boys were so much bigger, and stronger. One bad punch t-too hard to the head a-a-and, I! I don't know."

A finger brushed away the silent tears streaming down his face. Looking up with watery blue eyes Fiona's comforting smile greeted him her entire face encompassed by a golden light from the window. She pulled Altruis into a bear hug allowing the trembling child to sob into her shoulder. 

"Y'know somebodies gotta be the man in this house and it's obviously not a cry baby like you." 

Fiona joked playfully, Altruis let out a stifled laugh, gently pushing away from her and rubbing desperately at his eyes.

"Oh my god Fiona, there's no hope for you is there?"

He closed the door on the heart warming scene, feeling his face warped into a gentle smile. They seemed close, they obviously cared deeply for each other, were they related? Walking down the hall past many doors he tried to find one that would be at least far enough as to figure out there relations.

Pretty soon he found himself constantly peeking into doors. All of which where mostly about the two small children slowly growing up together. Some scenes were so heartwarming it made him gush and some were so sad he cried along with them.

Sadly some doors refused to open, probably locked, or were forcefully barricaded shut. Worse part is those were the doors that piqued his curiosity the most, maybe they were shut for a reason? He found himself fascinated with a mist of childish curiosity, he had realized earlier that these were obviously somebodies memories. Which begged the question, who? He couldn't figure out whether it was Fiona's or Altruis', definitely one of theirs though.

This conjured up more questions within his learning mind, like, how was this even possible? Could he interact with the memories? Was there anything he should be cautious of? If he got hurt here did he get hurt in real time? Where's the exit? How does one leave a place like this? 

He had so many questions, and so little answers. The only question answered this far was the memory one. He knew he couldn't interact with their memories. What happened had happened. He can't change that.

As he travelled deeper into the maze of doors he began noticing the subtle changes which seemed to slowly get worse the deeper he went. The environment got more ravaged, the smells got worse, the noises got louder, everything just seemed to get worse.

Including the memories.

After trying to open countless doors one finally opened, and it wasn't a pleasant one.

An older Altruis and Fiona stood in a lavish room, full of gold, definitely meant for royalty. A possibly sixteen-year-old Fiona was draped in expensive gowns, while a 15-year-old Altruis stood barefoot a robe disguising himself into the shadows.

"Please Fiona, run away with me!"

Altruis practically cried begging her desperately but Fiona didn't budge, not even a inch, she couldn't.

"Altruis, please. Don't make this more painful than it has to be. I can't come, I have a duty and an oath to bear."

Altruis' hands were balled into tight fists, so tight blood was drawn. It was too dangerous for him to stay, but it was too painful to leave. This was further proven by the angry shouts of villagers below. His body trembled uncontrollably, tears rolling down his pale face. 

"I promise I'll come back."

He turned on his heel and sprinted out the door, not sparing a second glance towards Fiona. The girl he left behind. 

"Please don't forget me."

The memory was cut short, but it was extremely bitter nonetheless. His heart ached just watching the gut wrenching scene near tears even.

He closed the door, he had to keep going. If he didn't would he ever get out of here? With defeat he kept strolling down the hall trying, and failing, to open doors.

At one point he'd come across an untouched almost blank like door unlike the others that always had something unique about them. This one just seemed, what was the word, dead? Maybe empty would be the better word.

Slightly creaking open the door he was decently surprised to hear cheerful drunken music come blasting out. He definitely didn't expect that, stepping into the memory he noticed the boy again. The boy that appeared in every memory with ash fallen white hair, baby blue eyes, and very pale skin. Through memories he'd learned about what the boy was like. He was shy, clumsy, introverted, never hurt a soul, he seemed too pure to do such a thing. He seemed the most vulnerable he'd ever been in any of the memories though.

His hair was messier and definitely hadn't taken a shower for awhile. Through thick coats he could see bruises blooming in all sorts of colours from blue to black. The thing that stood out the most though was his eyes, they'd always held this light to them like an unspoken hope. Maybe even a fire of determination, he never knew why but it seemed to keep him alive. Unlike now.

Now his eyes looked tired, like they'd seen too much, the light was completely perished not even a single glimmer reflected in them they'd grown dark and distant. He felt a pang of worry in his heart, not realizing how deep he'd gotten into this boy's life.

With a determined gaze he strided up to the seat beside him, the boy flinched genuine surprise filling both their features. He hadn't been able to interact with other memories before so why this one, was he being given a chance? If that was the case he wasn't going to lose it.

Putting on a gentle smile as to reassure the boy he meant no ill harm he attempted to start a conversation. "What's a young boy like you doing at a bar like this?" The boy lightly glared but didn't seem to be able to muster the strength to completely, only releasing the tension into a single empty breathe. "I should ask the same to an old guy like you, you don't look like you belong here." A thick Russian accent came through, he's never had an accent before, wasn't he French?

"By any chance are you Russian?" Genuine curiosity had overrun his logical senses, curiosity seemed to be calling the shots now. The boy lightly smiled beginning to relax at the surprisingly pleasant conversation, must've thought he was something else like a creep possibly. 

"A-Actually, um, no I originally came from somewhere else" he could feel a sense of pride fill him seeing the familiar stutter come back. That was the boy who was happy, the boy he remembered. Letting the grin break through he continued to pry 

"what's your name, son?" 

The boy beamed happily, guess he just needed somebody to talk to "my names Altruis, sir! If you don't mind my prying are you from around here?" He chuckled lightly "no, actually I just recently got here, it's for business strictly though. Figured I should relax a bit before diving into work." The lie was made up on the spot, but he bought it nonetheless.

Altruis looked off into the distance, he could see the screws turning in his head as he thought. 

"Everything alright there son?" He calmly asked a bit of worry seeping into his tone unwillingly, Altruis seemed to snap out of it though. With a blush he nervously ruffled up his hair "o-oh, um, sorry. There's just a lot on my mind, it's hard to not space out here and there." He quietly mumbled, he almost didn't hear it over the drunken men singing something about a story of tonight.

"What're you thinking about son?" He couldn't help but ask, he had so many questions still especially a lot circulating this Altruis kid. 

Instead of what he expected Altruis looked down a depressed look crossed his face, eyes seemed to grow darker. He immediately regretted even trying to bring something so personal like that up, "can we not talk about me, please?"

Gabriel nodded completely understanding where the boy was coming from. Altruis seemed to snap out of it quickly back pedalling away from the topic. "If you don't want to though it's fine!" Knowing him he probably thinks he's the one that did something wrong. Gabriel lightly chuckled "no, no, no, it's fine. I'd be happy to tell you more about myself instead, you seem like a sweet kid."

Altruis embarrassingly blushed at the compliment seeming to trip over his own thoughts. "My names Gabriel. Gabriel agreste. I actually have a son, he's kind of like you." Altruis seemed to cock an eyebrow curiously repeating something too quiet to hear under his breath. Once again it seemed those gears in his head had gone running off, but when it clicked his eyes widened in utter shock.

"Wait, wait, wait! Thee Gabriel Agreste?" 

Gabriel faltered, did he know him? If so was that a good thing or a bad thing? The pause seemed to tell Altruis everything cause next thing he knew the boy had buried his head into his hands, a heavy groan emitting from his slumped over body.

"Is something wrong?" Altruis leaned back in his chair, he was pretty surprised by the irritable look that took over his face. "Yeah there's 'something wrong,' doing business with you is going to be harder than I thought!" He grumbled like a child throwing a silent tantrum. 

To say he had no idea what was going on anymore was a good assessment. "Excuse me?" Altruis lifted his eyes from glaring at the table to nonchalantly looking at Gabriel. "Oh, right, yeah. You don't know what's going on anymore do you?"

With a snap of his fingers a blue light emanated freezing the entire bar. All the music stopped, all the clambering of drinks stopped, all the people stopped. Time just stopped. Heck, even Altruis' changed from piles of coats and bruises to a plain dark blue sweater matched with black jeans.

"W-What?!" Gabriel rushed up no further words leaving his mouth, complete shock overriding everything else. Altruis only smirked amused by the inexperienced mans actions "you should know better then anybody by now Gabriel. You can't interact with memories."

He stood there feeling the own gears in his head twisting, of course it all made sense now. That's why the door didn't look like the others, why it looked so untouched. That's also why he could talk to Altruis, and that also means that this is the real Altruis, not a fabricated memory of him. The real deal.

Whipping around Gabriel glared suspiciously, "what do you want?" Altruis laughed an insane laugh, it sent shivers down his spine. He was so stupid, he'd played right into this boys manipulating hands, given him precious information. But he knew he wouldn't go this far all for nothing. He needed something from him so he must still have some advantage.

Altruis twirled out of his seat practically dancing as he grabbed a beer mug taking a long confident sip, with such a know it all cocky grin. "Isn't it obvious Gabie? I want what all humans want power." The look of confusion that overtook Gabriel's face seemed to say all without any words.

Altruis' grin dropped just like his childish act. Now was the time to get down to business. 

"Listen I know who you are, you're hawkmoth. The villain that plagues Paris." Al casually shrugged, while Gabriel looked as though he wanted to say something but bit his tongue. "I have a deal. A deal that can benefit the both of us, trust me. I was sent on a mission, my objective? Steal the power of these so called 'superheroes' and bring it back to my mother country. A somewhat common goal for the both of us."

Now Gabriel was listening intently but this did arise problematic questions.

"You seem to not completely understand the situation here, Ruin." Ruin cocked a brow this time, how'd he know his undercover name? He'd admit it caught him off guard, but a cocky grin played at his lips as he felt the challenge surface. "Oh, and what's that?"

Leaning against a pillar Gabriel pulled out his miraculous. "This is a miraculous, it's what gives chat noir and ladybug their powers and allows me to do what I do. To get it you have to know who they are. Trust me when I say that's not an easy ordeal, Ruin. I've tried so many tactics but none thus far have worked. What'll you do that'll make a difference?"

Gabriel asked skepticism dripping venomously from every word. Ruin leaned against the bar a malicious smirk covering his face, that didn't look like good news. 

"Well mister 'I'm-so-much-better-then-you', unlike you, I know what to do in these scenarios. I may not look it but you're talking to one of best hitmen from Russia. Of course I could just pull a whole hostage scenario, kill a few people, and rat them out. Although you might foil my plans cause it'd involve your dear precious son who, by the way, sucks." He glowered complete fury seeping into his words while talking about his actual son. Why'd Ruin hate him so much? All he knew was that he should definitely not get onto this mans bad side.

With a huff, or was that an actual growl? He released the tension slipping a bittersweet smile back into place.

"Besides, I'd like to enjoy my 'vacation', make it last a bit longer. What better way to make a good vacation by ruining everybody's lives with some good ol' manipulation?"

Gabriel let out a defeated sigh, this man was twisted and completely insane but at least there was some form of logic within his madness. "Okay I get your point but that still doesn't answer my first question. What specifically do you want from me?"

Ruins form immediately straightened excitedly like a child a smile twisting its way up his pale face. "I'm so glad you asked Gabie! Y'see I did my research about you last night when I had just arrived. From what I heard and seen you have the power to give others power, correct?" He asked a hint of curiosity seeming to slip in. Gabriel caught onto what he was suggesting, and to be honest the idea wasn't bad except for one fatal flaw. 

"No way, I can only transform one person at a time. There's no way in hell I can have you act like some superhero and still fight another akumatized person! Do you know the effects that could have on my miraculous?" Hawkmoth explained heatedly, still angry he'd been deceived.

Ruin cocked an eyebrow as that condescending smirk taunted him. "The real question Gabie is do you know? I mean do you really know what'll happened to your miraculous? How are you sure you can't akumatize more then one person? It's not like you've ever tried." Ruin casually shrugged that cocky aura emitting off him acting as though he'd just won a fight, and truthfully, he just did.

Gabriel faltered, he was right, he'd never tried to akumatize more than one person, how was he so sure? He froze completely, now all thanks to this boy's words he was having an existential crisis. Ruin seemed to sense his distress, soaked in the suffering, a little smirk stretched its way across his face. He still wanted this deal to work though, so, persuasion time.

"If you're so unsure you don't actually have to give me power, just make it look like I have one those miraculous things. I'm strong enough to physically handle myself out there, and if I'm not? Well, you already know how good of a manipulator I am." Ruins words persuaded, now the deal didn't seem as bad, actually it seemed too easy. He could give Ruin this so called get up, and this way he didn't have to face the problem head on somebody else could do it for him. In the end they both win.

Gabriel sighed trying to rub away the knot of tension in his eyebrows, everything about this was just too easy. "What if I don't accept your deal?" The curiosity had reached him again and he just needed to ask, he needed to know what was at risk for him.

A pleasantly surprised look filled Ruins face not expecting him to deny, but it was quickly replaced by that insane laughter of his. It reminded him of the laugh you'd hear joker make in one of those batman films. Gabriel cocked a brow not completely understanding what was so funny. Eventually the laughter slowly died down to little amused chuckles, Ruin strutted up towards him, so close his ice cold breath pushed at his face making him internally shiver. "Well y'see Gabie, you don't get that choice anymore. Well, you did before you told me your identity." The smile was so innocent but it did little to hide the cryptic threat within his words.

With a reluctant breath he accepted the fact he wasn't in control anymore.

"Fine I accept your deal."

Ruin happily beamed one of those great big smiles again, "great! Now if you'll excuse me I need to wake up I'm not exactly fond of sleeping." He headed towards the door that led out of the memory. An unanswered question still lingered thick on his mind and in the air.

"Wait!"

Ruin turned around his own curiosity peaked, he lightly glared "what?" Gabriel paused unsure if he should ask but he wanted to know, no, needed to know. 

"Were those memories real? If so why are you like, well, this. Did something happen? If you need somebody I can help you!" He urgently reassured, he hated to admit it but a small part of him missed the boy he saw in those precious memories. He'd grown attached and got stabbed in the back.

Ruins glare only seemed to heat up vividly, smile completely erased from his face and being replaced by a genuine scowl. He turned back around to face the door not being able to look at the man before him. His entire form was tense, he didn't want to answer. He won't answer. He needed to show those memories to catch that butterfly in his spiderweb, but that doesn't mean he wanted to.

With a sigh he released the physical tension in his shoulders continuing to briskly walk towards the door, only leaving a simple answer that was sure to anger the other man.

"I'm not your son."


	6. Altruis meets Ruin

With a groan Altruis began to arise from his slumber. Something felt horribly different though, but what?

The room was chilly, actually no, it was freezing. Why was it so cold? He wanted to get up but he could only curl within himself seeking some form of warmth. Slightly cracking open a tired eye, he wordlessly gazed into the darkness. The only distinct thing seen within his range of view was the puffs of cold shivering breaths coming from his already cracked tinted blue lips.

He ached, but he knew he had to get up eventually. So, with much effort he hauled his trembling body from its supposed slumber. Eventually he was able to get up completely on his two shaking legs without falling over. Well, their wasn't anything else to do now except roam, right? So, roam he did. He wandered for awhile but it seemed empty, there was, interesting parts though. Parts that looked built yet ruined. He'd stumbled upon towers, torn ruthlessly to the ground without a care in the world. He found homes, burning with fire, he could only wonder what happened to the ones who lived within. He'd tripped upon streets so devastated, he wondered if he could climb that high in such a cold like blizzard.

Sadly, everything seemed abandoned. Only the wreckage and disaster of the habitats that lived here remained. Their was no way he was going to find help, it was similar to trying to find a needle in a hay stack. Hopeless. At least it was a surprisingly cool journey, he's never seen stuff so, uh, what would be the word again?

"R._.UiŃ_eD?"

A voice nearly chuckled, the voice was weird though, definitely unnatural. It almost sounded like his voice but as if hundreds, or maybe even thousands, were trying to imitate him all at once. Everything sounded like it was glitching out on some malfunctioning watered down tape recorder. It was distorted beyond comprehension, barely understandable, yet, understandable? His heart almost stopped beating where he stood, he couldn't tell if it was because of the ice cold weather finally seeping in or the paralyzing fear. Just the realization he truly wasn't alone, made him completely still. Slowly turning around, full on panic attack ready to spring, you could say he was decently surprised to see himself?

What stood before Altruis was, well, him, but different? His eyes were darker, more cold, more purple?Everything about him vibrated chaos putting Altruis on an edge around the mysterious figure looming before him. 

His hair was a bit longer, it looked actually brushed and tended to unlike Altruis' mess of hair. Even his skin was way more tan than his ghostly white complex. Along with these subtle changes came obvious differences. For one, he didn't wear Altruis' casual dark blue hoodie. The other him wore a black V shaped shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Altruis' breath suddenly hitched in his throat as his eyes traveled down the others arms. Revealing every little scar and insecurity that decorated his own exact arms. As Altruis took in the mans appearance further he came upon a conclusion. This man, indeed, was identical to Altruis. Well, except for a few differences.

"S_uUrPRisE_.D?" The other him rasped in a clearly distorted voice. Striding skilfully over to Al with the elegance of a prince. Altruis immediately flinched back like a coward, the other him was slightly surprised but tried his best at a warm smile. It was very awkward on the others face, it ended up coming out quite crooked. "h_Ey, I dO,,n'T BIte!" he let out a toothy grin, similar to a shark actually.

Altruis frowned with suspicion, "who are you?" The other him merely smiled likely expecting the question. The smile seemed to be even more distorted than anything though. So distorted even the other him seemed to notice. Altruis was about to ask whether he was okay or not but a single finger was quick to be shoved in his face. Prompting him to stop and wait, but continue to stare at him quizzically.

He hit his chest a couple of times, choked coughs erupted. Soon a full on barrage of violent strangling coughs came out making him double over, Al could only watch in mild horror. He waited a moment for the coughing to subdue itself before he got back up, "sorry, just needed to, uh, 'fix' my voice."

He tried to smile warmly maybe to lighten the atmosphere, but that didn't lift altruis' worries at all. "You still haven't answered my question. W-Who are you?"

"The names Ruin, Ruin Akuma" he purred with a sickeningly sweet voice, bowing within the process.

Altruis' brows furrowed, something wasn't right about this still. "H-Have you been following me?" Altruis confronted as loud as his weak voice could go. Ruins eyebrows shot up, displaying a face of genuine surprise, but it was quick to go. Replaced easily by a know-it-all smirk, "clever boy."

"Y'see Altruis, I've been keeping an eye on you! And, well, I am a tad disappointed. I thought you would be just a little similar to me!" Ruin sighed with such disapproval, sparing a pouty glare Al's way. Altruis couldn't help but cock a brow, "a little similar to me?" He couldn't help but repeat his doppelgängers words.

Ruin looked at Altruis like a teacher would when a student asked such an incredibly stupid question. Even going so far as to cross his arms. "Altruis please take a good look at yourself," Ruin silently gestured towards him with an over exaggerated arm motion.

Cocking a brow he looked down towards his body, yet nothing seemed altered. All he saw was his: hands, arms, torso, stomach, legs, and feet. Everything seemed in place. Was there something he was missing? A hidden meaning? Another cryptic threat? Goddamn, why was he so confusing?

"I... I don't get it?"

He quietly asked, looking back up towards ruin with defeat. Ruin slightly scowled walking over to him "look at yourself Altruis!" He harshly snatched Al's arm, seeming to lose his patience. His grip was tight, too tight, he flinched. This only raised the grip to become tighter, 

"you're a weak pushover who's too scared to even face himself." The harsh bite in his tone struck deep. Altruis looked away unable to maintain Ruins cold glare in fear he may see the tears threatening to overspill. "Face it, you're a crybaby, and that's all you have ever been."

He couldn't stop the tears, his heart ached painfully, his words seemed to fail and backfire on him. He tried again and again searching for some comeback, some way to defend himself! But there was nothing to say, because Ruin was right.

"You're-You're right, I-I am a c-crybaby..." His already quiet voice cracked with the added effort of a small laugh as he sniffled. He tried to display a stronger image of himself but he just couldn't. He was being kicked while already down.

"Hey, look at me. Altruis?"

It was more of a question than a demand, something in Ruins voice had grown softer, maybe it was pity? Either way, Altruis finally met Ruins gaze. "It doesn't have to be like this."

Altruis eyes were still teary, but now curious and questioning. "Altruis, do you know how I got here?" No traces of a smile remained on Ruins face, his expression serious. Altruis stopped, taking a moment to process the question and desperately wrack his mind for an answer to provide. He didn't have one though. He ever so slightly shook his head no, scared of any reaction.

"Do you remember what happened before you passed out?"

Altruis grew more scared as he couldn't remember what happened to him, he couldn't even remember passing out. Wait, something happened to him? Oh god, what? What could have possibly happened to him? Did something kill him? If so on purpose or accidentally? That would be a huge mess either way. He does not want to wake up in a morgue again and be labeled a zombie. Oh gee how worried was Noel and Nathanael? Did he already mess up his mission? On the first day nonetheless.

The uncertainty was sprawled all over his face. From the beads of nervous sweat, to the way he was gnawing his lip. "What-" he hesitated, taking a moment to breath in before continuing, "what happened?"

Ruin gulped, hesitation to even answer obvious. "I don't know." It was an understandable answer for anybody under this circumstance but Altruis nearly did a spit take, "you don't know!?" Altruis hyperventilated in disbelief all the possibilities become more possible by the second. He was quick to zip it though when he saw Ruins more than unimpressed face. "I have some theories but none are proven and are more guesses than anything else really. The only proven theory is this: you, Altruis Chrónos, can not be akumatized." Altruis' eyes widened, he remembered this, he remembered researching what akumas were and what they did. Why was he different? "I- why?" Altruis' mouth was starting to run faster than his mind around now.

Ruin huffed as he sat down Indian style on the nearly invisible pitch black void you could call a ground. It was directly across from a fidgeting Altruis. "I'm not sure of the why yet, what I do know is what I am. I'm the akuma that hit you. I guess I merged with you and adapted your worst: memories, emotions, reactions, honestly just anything you can label negative about yourself has become me." Altruis numbly nodded, a bitter look crossing his face as possibly many negative things came to mind. Unpleasant memories by my guess.

"I think your body is like a container of sorts when it comes to magic. It absorbs and stockpiles energy and magic alike. I don't know why your body does this, or even how, but I'm guessing you may not be entirely human." Altruis looked surprised, a dumbfounded look crossing his startled expression. "I'm not human? I mean I probably shouldn't be surprised it'd actually explain way too much but it leaves room for way too many questions as well." Altruis blurted out theories and questions from left to right as he slowly delved into a mumbling mess that no being could ever hope to possibly translate. 

Ruin rolled his eyes, anger seething from his very being once more, "I swear if you start listing every single question and theory inside that big head of yours I will not hesitate to punch you." Altruis hurriedly shrunk back into himself, "s-sorry!"

With a heavy sigh Ruin cut straight to the point again just wanting to get this over with. "I'm stuck in your body. I can't go anywhere, so, I can't really do anything. I could potentially get stronger with more akumas? That's also just a theory though." Altruis perked up, listening intently. "On another, more related, note I woke up first before you. Surprisingly and accidentally you absorbed not only me but the person who sent me. Aka hawkmoth, the supervillain we had researched earlier. Seeing as I am literally the embodiment of evil from you I blackmailed him and let's just say we have a one-way-ticket to being a hero now."

Altruis was rocking back-and-forth where he sat like some excited child would throughout his whole speech eyes somehow magically sparkling. "Oh my god, seriously!? W-Wow, this is already so cool, a little overwhelming, but mostly cool. I remember wanting to be a hero when I was younger! Ah man, good times."

Ruin hissed, "yeah good times for you. All those memories for me just add salt to a wound, now shut up! I'm still explaining." Altruis softly chuckled making a zipping motion over his mouth, "ai, ai, captain!" 

"I had some more time before you woke up and figured a solution for how me n' you can cooperate. While we're in civilian form both our personalities can be evident. That way nobody suspects anything has changed. However when you're a superhero, my personality will vanish completely only leaving your personality in place. If we have to do anything remotely villainous, or there's an emergency you can't handle, I'm kicking your personality out and letting mine take over."

Altruis solemnly nodded, head wrapping itself comfortably around the idea. "Y-yeah, okay, that makes sense. Seeing as I am in technical terms the good one and you're the bad one. O-Oh, hey, we're like a yin yang!"

"If you ever compare us to a yin yang again I will shove my foot so far do-"

"A-Alright, I get it! Definitely ain't making that reference again, Jesus."

"So, deal?"

"Deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kinda funny thought I had (if you’re in the gravity falls fandom you’ll likely understand this reference), Altruis is like Will Cipher and Ruin is like Bill Cipher!
> 
> Oh, also if it ain’t obvious enough, they don’t exactly hate each other. They just tolerate one another. I mean if you share a body you’d probably have to. Anyways, I’ll update one day again. When? Honestly who knows. I’ve decided I’m going to start doing these end notes though for the heck of it.


End file.
